✿ Piet VAN DEN BOOG ✿

Born in 1951, Piet van den Boog is a Dutch artist living and working in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Van den Boog studied telecommunicaitons at Delft Technical University and painting at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. A full time painter since 1994, van den Boog is influenced by Dutch painters including Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer.
In his current series of paintings, van den Boog “evokes an array of emotion in the spectator by allowing him/her to be present in a profoundly intimate setting. Van den Boog’s method of using etching fluids to oxidize the surface of the unfinished black steel creates a deep and weighty aesthetic. Van den Boog reveals his thematic intention through controlling the corrosion of the steel, therefore manifesting the metaphor of the figs’ demise through his materials. He lays an under-painting in acrylic for quick-drying and a sketchy finish, and then applies a top layer of oil paint. This technique creates nuances and details in the portraits and intensifies the color. In addition, referencing the French tale of the sculptor Rodin and his mistress Camille Claudel, van den Boog uses clay on the surface as a medium and a metaphor. With their complex medium of two-toned steel, two types of paint, and a top layer of clay, these paintings take on an innovative textural and dynamic quality.”